gstreetshuffle

I'm visiting Europe in early October for the first time. Traveling from the US (October 1st-14th).

A friend and I are flying into London and arriving on the morning of October 1st and leaving Europe from Paris on Sunday, October 14th.

We are staying at an apartment in London and using that is base location for the trip.

Other than London and Paris, I would like to get some recommendations on easy and cost efficient trips. We are both around the age of 30, males and looking to experience the culture, nightlife and art of as many cities as possible during the trip. Other interests include dancing, beer tasting, musical history, museums, and shopping for interesting/funky things, but since this is my first trip, I would also like to do most of the classic tourist spots as well.

Here is what I have so far:

1. London
2. Possibly Brighton...
3. Possibly Scotland...
4. Possibly Belgium and/or Amsterdam...

I'm really trying to figure out what works best logically and what will require significant travel time.

Any tips/guidance/recommendations is much appreciated! Thanks!

BMartin9000

Berlin has great night clubs, and Germany is ripe with culture and history.

jomagpie

Well Brighton's only about an hour away by train, so you can probably check it out for a night while in London. Haven't been there in years but I definitely do remember the nightlife! How long are you planning on staying in London?

From London you can catch a train to Amsterdam (via Brussels) - under 5 hours, then make your way down to Brussels - about 2 hours from Amsterdam, and ending in Paris - 1.5hrs from Brussels (not all in one day, of course ). It'll be a fast-paced trip though, if you guys don't mind that (do what works best for you guys).

Safe & happy travels!

bobthenavigator

Young people seem to like Edinburgh.

gstreetshuffle

Thanks for the replies.

Jomagpie, we're using London as our primary location and will work around that.

What is an easier trip to do - Amsterdam (via Brussels) or Edinburg?

PalenQ

What is an easier trip to do - Amsterdam (via Brussels) or Edinburg>

Both take about the same time travel wise if going by train - 5 hours or so each way so if talking about a day trip then not realistic IMO

kerouac

Throw Belgium into your plans. It is a wonderful, insufficiently appreciated country.

BigRuss

Hold on now. When will you be in Paris? You can daytrip to Amsterdam or Brussels from there (long day trip to Amsterdam, tolerable to Brussels). No reason to do that from London.

Edinburgh is just under 4 hours from London by express train (Edinburg is in South Texas). It's great, but that's a bit of a trip if you don't over-night in Edinburgh. Oxford and Cambridge are far closer, so are Manchester and Liverpool. Don't know the attraction of Brussels other than ease of transport - Amsterdam has more to offer in just about every way relevant to you other than beer.

Then again, Edinburgh on a weekend night should be fun. The Scots allegedly make some amber drinkable concoctions that have a certain allure. If you want to experience rabid devotion to irrelevance, go to a Scottish Premier League football match.

If you want to experience rabid devotion to frustration, go to a Tottenham/Arsenal/Fulham match in London (although those tickets will be FAR more expensive).

Berlin is a bit far for your travels. Germany's history is not ripe, nor is the country "rife" with history of a positive sort, but that's a story for another day and time.

janisj

You mentioned a couple of times that you are basing in London. Are you staying there -- and just going to Paris at the end of your trip?

If so you need to stay closer to 'home'. Brighton, Oxford, Bath, Cambridge are all doable day trips from London. Edinburg<B>h</B>, Amsterdam, Berlin, etc . . . nope.

What is your actual itinerary? How many days in London and how many in Paris?

violetduck

Unless you cannot change your London reservations I would suggest you break up your time into three or four day segments and train to other places. It would be a waste of time to go very far from London and be required to return every night. Four nights in London, 3 or 4 in Amsterdam, another stop somewhere before going on to Paris. I think the train would be 5-6 hours London to Amsterdam and 3 hours Amsterdam to Paris. Have a good trip.

albionbythesea

I'm assuming you are staying in London for a full week - I wouldn't feel too motivated to leave London - there is no shortage of night life, action and things for 30 year olds to do. Specifically, look at Hoxton Square - great bars, galleries, night life etc.. for one evening. Consider the London Underground Arts complex for activities while you are in town - see http://wp.me/p2r6no-3S for more details. Also, go to Camden Market during one day - plenty of bars and street life entertainment. Soho will more than entertain with its blend of trendy bars / pubs / nightclubs and timeless seedy nightlife / adult entertainment 'zone'.

gstreetshuffle

Thanks again for all of the replies. We are staying at a friend's apartment in London, which is very convenient and saves us some cash. That's why we will be basing in London, but we are also very flexible.

The only day that I'm "required" to be in London is Day 4 for an event. Does the itinerary below seem doable? Anything that should be removed or cut short?

Tentative itinerary:

Day 1 (Monday)- Arrive London / Travel to Edinburgh
Day 2 (Tuesday)- Edinburgh / Stay the night in Edinburgh
Day 3 (Wednesday) - Scotland (?)
Day 4 (Thursday) - Return to London (morning) / Late night music event
Day 5 (Friday) - London / England
Day 6 (Saturday) - London / England
Day 7 (Sunday) - Travel to Brussels / Brugge (?)
Day 8 (Monday) - Belgium (?)
Day 9 (Tuesday) - Amsterdam
Day 10 (Wednesday) - Amsterdam
Day 11 (Thursday) - Paris
Day 12 (Friday) - Paris
Day 13 (Saturday) - Paris
Day 14 (Sunday) - Paris - Fly home

BigRuss

It's rushed but can be done.

More time in London. Would throw Brussels under the (bendy)bus for extra time in London in a heartbeat. Don't underestimate London's size. It's the largest city in Western Europe by FAR and double the size of Paris - a New York-Chicago disparity.

"Scotland" is too nebulous by far. Determine what you're looking for because "Scotland" is actually big for a tiny country - public transport connections to the coasts and Highlands are far inferior to equivalent connections in England, ditto the usability of the roads (lots of single-lane, not many real highways and nothing close to what you find in the US other than maybe right near Glasgow). That means a 100 mile trip is more than 2 hours, not 1:30 like in the US.

janisj

Two nights in Edinburgh (you don't say where you are staying night 1 but I assume you meant Edinburgh) after a loooooong travel day doesn't give you much time there at all and 'Scotland?' for one night is no time either. So just stay the 3 nights in Edinburgh --you won't even see 1/2 the city in the 2+ days you'll have there.

You have almost no time in London -- seems a waste since you have accommodations there.

If it was me - I'd do London for the first 6 days/nights, head up to Edinburgh for 2 nights, fly to Paris from EDI. W/ <i>maybe</i> a side trip to either A'dam or Brugge.

nytraveler

Too much bouncing around.

If you have free lodging in London for 6 nights use it. Then head out to 1 or at max 2 other places for 3 or 4 days each.

Where - depends on your interests. But if you are planning on heading to Paris I would get your Eurostar tickets rights away - they are like plane tickets - the closer to the date you go, the higher the price - and you can save at least 50% by buying early.

gstreetshuffle

Ok, I think we're getting there. Thanks for the replies. This is helping out a lot.

Revised from the comments here and my friend in London:

Day 1 (Monday)- Arrive London / Travel to Edinburgh / Stay the night in Edinburgh
Day 2 (Tuesday)- Explore Edinburgh / Stay the night in Edinburgh
Day 3 (Wednesday) - Leave Edinburgh (morning) / Travel to York OR Liverpool / Stay in York OR Liverpool
Day 4 (Thursday) - Return to London (morning) / Explore London / Late night music event (evening)
Day 5 (Friday) - Brighton (day trip)
Day 6 (Saturday) - Explore London / Late night music event (evening)
Day 7 (Sunday) - Explore London (day/evening)
Day 8 (Monday) - Explore London (day/evening)
Day 9 (Tuesday) - Travel to Brugge, Belgium (morning) / Explore Brugge/ Stay in Brugge
Day 10 (Wednesday) - Travel to Amsterdam (morning) / Explore Amsterdam (day/evening)
Day 11 (Thursday) - Explore Amsterdam (day/evening) / sleeper train to Paris? or early next morning?
Day 12 (Friday) - Paris
Day 13 (Saturday) - Paris
Day 14 (Sunday) - Paris - Fly home

A few comments/questions:

What are your thoughts on skipping York or Liverpool for an extra day in London?

I have a friend in Brighton, so I would like to do that.

I've heard wonderful things about Brugge and I would like to go to the museums in Amsterdam. What is the best way to get to Amsterdam via Brugge on rail?

PalenQ

No more overnight train Amsterdam to Paris now for some years. Only 3.5 hours or so now in day with new high-speed tracks the whole way, going up to nearly 200 mph.

For lots of great info IMO on trains in Britain and Holland I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sites - www.seat61.com; http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id11.html; and www.ricksteves.com.

If you want full flexibility in the UK look at the BritRail Pass that lets you hop on any train anytime in all the UK (except overnight trains for which you must pay a sleeping supplement) - you have some long trips and fully flexible tickets can cost a ton - the pass may be a great deal if wanting flexibility to chose any train once there - otherwise go to www.nationalrail.co.uk to see various fares - some really great deals on say London to Scotland but only if you act far far in advance (sold in limited numbers and not on all trains) and then are fine with locking yourself into a non-changeble non-refundable train weeks in advance - but that is probably the cheapest way to go. Myself I consider flexibility priceless so always get a BritRail Pass if traveling enough on trains of course - just show it to conductor as he walks buy - they rarely even glance at it for more than a nano second.

vespacurves

Make sure the museums you want to see in Amsterdam are open. Consider spending a morning in Brugge but heading to Antwerp for night life, beer and sleep.

Why don't you skip the day trip to Brighton and leave London a day earlier?

Were it me, I have to say I would arrive in London and catch a flight to Germany instead of going to Ediburgh. Does Octoberfest in Munich interest you?

PalenQ

I think Bruges is most magic at night after the tour-bussed-in hoards have departed for say Brussels for their night.

And the dreamy humpbacked wooden drawbridges are wondrous illuminated - the town becomes really romantic IMO at night. Stay the night IMO!

BigRuss

Indications above is that the Op will be traveling with a buddy, not an S.O. The romantic allure of Bruges at night probably isn't a draw . . .

The new itinerary is still a lot of hopping around and now shortchanges Paris. With "art" as a priority for the trip, that's probably not a great idea.